Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium, incorporating an image reader.
Related Art
Various types of electrophotographic image forming apparatuses are known, including copiers, printers, facsimile machines, and multifunction machines having two or more of copying, printing, scanning, facsimile, plotter, and other capabilities. Such image forming apparatuses usually form an image on a recording medium according to image data. Specifically, in such image forming apparatuses, for example, a charger uniformly charges a surface of a photoconductor as an image carrier. An optical writer irradiates the surface of the photoconductor thus charged with a light beam to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor according to the image data. A developing device supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image thus formed to render the electrostatic latent image visible as a toner image. The toner image is then transferred onto a recording medium either directly, or indirectly via an intermediate transfer belt. Finally, a fixing device applies heat and pressure to the recording medium carrying the toner image to fix the toner image onto the recording medium. Thus, the image is formed on the recording medium.
Such image forming apparatuses often include an image reader to read a toner image formed on an image bearer. For example, the image reader reads a test toner image formed on an outer circumferential surface of the image bearer so that a controller incorporated in the image forming apparatus calculates an amount of toner contained in the test toner image based on reading of the test toner image by the image reader.